LEGION BASEBALL: Braintree defeats Hingham to reach state tournament

Hingham, which needed to defeat Braintree twice Wednesday in the finals of the South Sectional Bracket B Intrastate Legion Baseball Tournament, won the first game 6-3. Post 120 mounted a comeback to make the second and deciding game close down the stretch, but strong defense and pitching was the difference for Braintree Post 86 in a 5-3 win.

The big bat of Connor Columbus has propelled Braintree into the American Legion state championship baseball tournament.

In the final game of the South Sectional Bracket B Intrastate Tournament Wednesday night at Braintree High School, Braintree Post 86 defeated Hingham Post 120, 5-3, behind two home runs from Columbus.

Hingham, which needed to beat Braintree twice Wednesday to advance, forced a deciding game by winning the first game, 6-3, after trailing 3-0. Hingham’s Rob Madden went 2-for-3 in the first game with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored.

“We battled in the first game loss, but we came out strong in the second game,” said Columbus.

Braintree jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the final game off Columbus’ two-run homer. Steven Donovan knocked in Steve Lee to stretch the early lead to 3-0.

Columbus came back to haunt Post 120 again in the third inning when he registered a solo home run. The same story played out as Donovan again knocked Lee home to give Braintree a 5-0 cushion.

“We are not the most talented team I have had, but the heart that runs through the veins of these kids is amazing,” said Braintree head coach Jim Joyce. “The chemistry and the heart is what is driving us and hopefully we can stick with that when we get (to the state tournament) on Saturday.”

Post 120 did not go down without a fight. Eddie Bowler clocked a solo home run out of park in the fourth inning to put Hingham on the board.

In the sixth inning, Post 120 showed life when John Carlson singled in Bowler. Later in the inning, David Hutchins scored Steven White. Bobby McNiff struck out a Post 120 batter to end the sixth as Hingham stranded a runner on third base.

Braintree demonstrated strong pitching in the contest from Kevin Howard and McNiff.

“I just gave Howard a hug because where he started the beginning of this year with some mechanical problems and control problems,” Joyce said on the field after the victory. “To see how far he has come kind of proved what type of team this is.”

Joyce also attributed the victory to solid defense, which helped Post 86 especially when Hingham started to mount a comeback.

“I was hoping we were going to (get) a little more of a cushion,” said Joyce. “Our defense was huge.”

Braintree gets a little rest before the Final Eight State Tournament starts Saturday.

Columbus knows the keys to success in the state tourney.

“Keep hitting the ball, play defense,” he said. “If the pitching is unbelievable, we will do good.”